Rock League, curling’s first professional league, has secured coverage across the US with international sports broadcaster ESPN to stream its inaugural 2026 season.
The deal will see the ESPN+ streaming service air every game during Rock League’s week-long “preview” season, starting with yesterday’s debut event in Toronto and ending with the finals on April 12.
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Rock League’s debut comes shortly after the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics and features a slate of international talent, including 60 athletes representing 12 countries. Of that figure, the league said 39 athletes participated at the Winter Games, including 25 medallists.
Six mixed-gender, mixed-nationality franchises will compete this season, with each team consisting of five men’s curlers and five women’s curlers. The teams compete in traditional four-player matches (men’s, women’s, and mixed) and two-person doubles matches.
Nic Sulsky, co-founder and chief executive of parent company The Curling Group, said: “We built Rock League to showcase the best men’s and women’s curlers on the planet. Coming off the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, the timing couldn’t be better for the launch of the sport’s first professional league.
“ESPN+ allows Rock League to nurture and expand our growing audience in America while providing our fans with the most optimal viewing and fan experience possible.”
Rock League's early investors include current and retired NFL trio George Kittle, T.J. Hockenson, and Hall of Famer Jared Allen.
The recently ended 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics saw curling prove a popular sport, drawing millions of viewers in key markets, including the US.
The US vs Sweden men’s curling final delivered 1.6 million viewers on rights holder NBC’s Sports Nation – the network’s second-largest audience in a late nighttime slot.
ESPN, meanwhile, has tapped several recognizable names from the curling world to serve as broadcasters for the league, including John Cullen and Tyler George handling play-by-play duties, while Jennifer Jones, Joanne Courtney, Mike Harris, and Chelsea Carey serve as analysts.
The CBC’s Devin Herox and star American curler Matt Hamilton will serve as ice-side reporters, conducting interviews with players.
